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Ingolstadt to Northern Italy and Back. Ideas for Stopovers?

Hello people.

I will be driving from Ingolstadt to Bolzano Bozen, Italy and the back in about a week and was looking for ideas to stop over. I have the whole day to drive down and then a whole day to drive back up. The drive itself is about 5 hours, but I wanted to make a few stops on the way to break up the drive and see some sights since I am not in a rush to get from point A to point B. I don't have any specific route to take so I can go out further if needed as long as I do it in a day each way.

On the way down, I was thinking about going around the west side of Munich and possibly stopping at Linderhof. I really love all the little towns so maybe another one to stop over for an hour or so? Anything else south of Munich that really jumps out to see, Ulm?

On the way back, I was thinking of heading up the east side of Munich and same thing, make approx 2-3 stops on the way. Berchtesgarden?

Thank you.

Posted by
12040 posts

5 hours might be a little bit of an overgenerous estimate. There's a lot of roadwork on the Munich ring right now. Traffic can often get quite snarled.

Linderhof is impressive, but it will likely take you 2-3 hours to see, unless you arrive very early. It uses the same timed-entry system as Neuschwanstein, so you could arrive and conceivably wait an hour or two before your tour. I'm not sure you would want to add that much time. Nearby Oberammergau might be a good idea. It's a nice town and it won't take you long to explore. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is another good option, particularly if the weather is clear.

You could also consider Innsbruck.

Ulm is too far out of your line of travel.

Posted by
2981 posts

Stop for an hour or so at the very charming old town of Sterzing/Vipiteno, roughly between Bolzano and Innsbruck. Mittenwald is also a worthwhile stopover.

Paul

Posted by
6 posts

Perfect. Thank you for these suggestions. Oberammergau and Garmisch are a good stopover. Drive a bit then stop there for lunch and some sightseeing before heading on down. Maybe catch Innsbruck next then head down to Bolzano.

On the way back, I might stop at Mittenwald or swap that with Innsbruck. I'll see how the drive down goes.

Any final suggestions for something east of Munich heading back up toward Ingolstadt? Would prefer to take a different route back for a change of scenery.

Lastly, any nice routes/drives to go during the drive? We'll have a nice car to enjoy the drive and scenery.

Thank you.

Posted by
12040 posts

I would take the route that gets you south of Munich as soon as possible, as that's where you'll hit your major traffic snarls. If your car has a GPS that gives real-time traffic info, you can adjust as needed, but the Autobahn will likely provide the fastest route (although the western portion of the Munich "ring" isn't really on the Autobahn). The scenery will be impressive enough going through the Alps, no matter what route you take.

For driving back from Bolzano in one day, Berchtesgaden is a little too far out of your way along the eastern route. The traffic on the A8 Autobahn is almost always backed up between Rosenheim and Salzburg. Kufstein in Austria has a large fortress, but I've only seen it from the road. But it lies directly along your route. Rosenheim is nice for a brief stop-over. There's no real sites here, just an attractive, typical southern Bavarian baroque city (and the setting of a long-running popular German TV show). You could also consider a detour over to Chiemsee. However, if you decide to visit the Schloss, this will consume several hours.